Can mosquitoes remember your smell?

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The old adage that some people get more mosquito bites because of how sweet they are may just have some truth to it after all.

Research done by scientists at Virginia Tech University shows that mosquitoes not only remember human smells but also swats.

Dr. Clément Vinauger, an assistant professor of biochemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Dr. Chloé Lahondère, a research assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry, published a study in the journal Current Biology that shows mosquitoes can rapidly learn and remember the smells of hosts.

"This whole project started by this observation that we are not equal to mosquitoes, right? Some people do get bitten more than others and we are trying to understand why," Dr. Vinauger explained.

The study proved that even if someone is good-smelling to a mosquito, their preference can switch if that person's smell is associated with an unpleasant sensation.